Zuckerberg, Chan give $30M to Harvard and MIT for literacy

2018-03-07T13:11:46Z2018-03-09T15:30:33Z

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are giving Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology $30 million to help improve the literacy skills of elementary school students across the nation.

The Reach Every Reader program will combine scientific research with methods of tracking and predicting students' reading abilities to develop a web-based screening tool to identify kindergartners at high risk of reading difficulties.

MIT President Rafael Reif said "struggling to read can be a crushing blow with lifelong consequences" and when millions of children struggle, it's "a crisis for our society."

Authorities said Friday that the cables suspending a pedestrian bridge were being tightened after a "stress test" when the 950-ton concrete span collapsed over traffic, killing at least six people and injuring 10

Authorities said Friday that the cables suspending a pedestrian bridge were being tightened after a "stress test" when the 950-ton concrete span collapsed over traffic, killing at least six people and injuring 10

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File). FILE - This Monday, June 19, 2017, file photo shows a user signing in to Facebook on an iPad, in North Andover, Mass. Facebook has a problem it just can’t kick: People keep exploiting it in ways that could sway election...

News reports that Facebook let the Trump-affiliated data mining firm Cambridge Analytica abscond with data from tens of millions of users mark the third time in roughly a year the company appears to have been outfoxed in this way.

News reports that Facebook let the Trump-affiliated data mining firm Cambridge Analytica abscond with data from tens of millions of users mark the third time in roughly a year the company appears to have been outfoxed in this way.

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Authorities say the brother of the teen charged with killing 17 people at a Florida school has been arrested for trespassing at the same school.

Authorities say the brother of the teen charged with killing 17 people at a Florida school has been arrested for trespassing at the same school.

(AP Photo/Brian Skoloff, File). FILE - This April 2, 2017 file photo made with a drone, shows the U.S. Mexico border fence as it cuts through the two downtowns of Nogales, Ariz. A U.S. border patrol agent is going on trial for second-degree murder in U...

A Border Patrol agent is going on trial for second-degree murder this week in a rare Justice Department prosecution of a fatal cross-border Mexico shooting.

A Border Patrol agent is going on trial for second-degree murder this week in a rare Justice Department prosecution of a fatal cross-border Mexico shooting.

New York City's deadly helicopter crash has prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to call on federal regulators to prohibit commercial flights that use passenger harness systems that do not allow for...

New York City's deadly helicopter crash has prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to call on federal regulators to prohibit commercial flights that use passenger harness systems that do not allow for easy release.

(Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP). FBI agents meet at the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 18, 2018. At least a few people were injured in another explosion in Texas' capital late Sunday, after three package bombs deto...

Police have warned residents near the site of the latest explosion in Austin to remain indoors and to call 911 if they need to leave home before 10 a.m.

Police have warned residents near the site of the latest explosion in Austin to remain indoors and to call 911 if they need to leave home before 10 a.m.